This is a surprise final stop on my current world destination tea tour after hitting Florence, Paris and Tokyo. This tea is still in development, but Shui Tea sent me a sample with my recent order.
The raw tea is dark with specks of red safflower petals. The fragrance is subtly smokey, but there’s also the presence of a fine, exotic perfume. I know this is the citrusy bergamot and florals, but they combine to make something unique to this tea.
The brewed tea is utterly dark and rich. There’s some great body here and neither the lapsang nor the bergamot overpowers; they compliment each other well. This would be similar to having a citrus glazed food grilled on an open fire.
With my two favorite tea styles of all times blended, Lapsang Souchong and Earl Gray, this scores high with me.
